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I found some leftovers in my photo stash that might have some merit this Thursday Doors. This will be a 2nd entry for Mexico, Missouri on my site.

Mexico, population of around 11,000, is located in Audrain County and is the location of a Veterans Home, the annual Miss Missouri Pageant as well as the Missouri Military Academy-founded 1889. It’s the county seat and most recently, was honored with the most snowfall in one occurence in the state for this year so far at 22 inches. (learned that from my husband’s dr)

Memorial Court House-June 2017

On the Squareis a common term when referring to a rural downtown location. I was On the Square in the city of Mexico in June of 2017 when I took these shots. And some of the shots (confession time) are screenshots of the area from Google Earth because I felt it was necessary to go to this extent to give a better view than what I was able to get in person.

Typical town square

Built 1951

Chamber of Commerce

A place I had to refrain from entering was this music establishment.

Its OPEN 🎶

I have a knack of finding exceptional deals on 5-string banjos. My eldest daughter says I need more restraint from purchasing any more. Here’s one time I didn’t try my luck. Dear Daughter, you are welcome. 🙂

I mailed a package today. The door it is headed for will most likely take 10 to 14 days as they had wave after wave of typhoons (no pun intended) hit their island. So naturally mail is a bit delayed lately while they do some recovering/repairing/regrouping.

Are you curious as to what was in the package? Well it turns out I can tell you because they saw pictures ahead of time.

You write your budget allocation on the white rectangle

They all ended up with snap closures.

This is a cash budget envelope system for my niece who lives for the next few years in Okinawa, Japan. She’ll be able to allocate her cash and reduce overspending with these envelopes. She is to be credited with sending me Pinterest ideas to create this pretty cool idea. And of course, she knew her aunt has plenty of scraps. So in return……….

I get a few door posts. (not that I wouldn’t have made these for her anyway) 🙂

One of her favorite places to eat. I believe they serve familiar food there.

For your shopping convenience, this is the Japanese equivalent to Target called ‘Nitori’ according to my niece.

A door at the bottom of the hill of Hacksaw Ridge.

A gorgeous view from the top of Hacksaw Ridge looking out over the ocean. Forgive me for not knowing which direction this faces. But it definitely gives you an idea of how crowded the island is.

Glad to see this historical area is given some honor. A beautiful spot for reflection.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this Thursday Doors post and will take time to visit Norm 2.0 where he will direct you to many many more wonderful door posts from all over.

I’m pretty sure that part of the reason I enjoy the Thursday Door challenge is to make a feeble attempt at capturing surroundings we normally ignore.

Inside door view

Elevator doors

At the last couple of doctor visits, I’ve been thinking about sharing this one…….with a little extra something.

This is a nice view to see in person, but the camera just isn’t doing it justice.

looking west

doors down there

new motel nearly finished

cars with doors & more

closer view

These are better, but still not there.

I may not be the expert at panoramic photos, but I think this definitely gives you a better perspective of the edge of the prarie view I wanted you to see. And if you’re needing a way to lower the blood pressure (I hate going to the doctor btw), maybe a minute of taking in a scenic view will help.

I’ve decided to share another panoramic pic this Thursday Doors. This will be my final Doors entry until after April since I’ve once again (5th year) joined up with the April A to Z Challenge. That will be more than enough to commit to given my fulltime-working life.

So without further ado, I present the Sedalia Depot.

Some choppier views……

Entrance to this one story. Building behind is for another day.

The Red and White Missouri Pacific “Buzz saw” logo.

View from a dead-end street.

I find it very hard to see this as a 2-story structure. But apparently it was prior to 1951. You could read about it and some rather lengthy, extra Sedalia history here. Or just take my word for it. The story ‘in short’ is that this station had a vibrant past, a lull where it needed a little push from local and state sources to step into the next era, and now is a success story that could have easily been the ending. It’s currently an Amtrak stop for 4 daily trains. The Missouri River Runner travels from Kansas City, Missouri to St. Louis, Missouri and back each day.

I just want to add a personal note to the Sedalia Downtown Development,Inc for following through with this project. Kudos to you! I sincerely hope it is not the end of our saving the visual past of our beloved “Queen City of the Prairie”.

With this home in rural Pettis County, Missouri, you get the arch entrance on the front porch, a side door, and an open garage door. The front door was blocked by stacked boxes. And there is a lovely front door. I’ve seen it in days long gone on the way to school. Sorry I couldn’t get a good view for you.

What I’d really like to do is stand under that arch on the porch and see the view they have from that perspective.

Mother leading the way to the entrance of the Veterans Home in Mexico, Missouri.

According to information provided on the Missouri Veterans Commission home page, a person must require institutional health care services, among other criteria to become a resident of one of these facilities. My Uncle Neal is one such person. He has severe short term memory loss and requires a significant amount of supervision. He can have a decent conversation with his visitors, but tomorrow, it will most likely be forgotten.

We’ve all entered the doors of these sort of places that have ‘that smell’ and I commend this home for not being in that category. And for my Uncle’s sake, I’m much appreciative.

This is a display donated by a previous Missouri governor, Kit Bond. It houses ‘coins’ he collected over the years. I only wish I could have read the card a little better. Basically these are Challenge Coins (the proper name) and are presented to recognize special achievement to military members.

You can see the childlike state my uncle is in at this moment in the way he holds a hand.

Watching a parade put on by the wonderful staff.

Three of the 5 siblings & me.

Pictured above: our humble entourage that included my husband (the photographer for these shots) and my mother, aunt and myself. I love the moment captured between my aunt and uncle above. This is her true, genuine, caring, nurturing nature. Love her!

Let us all remember and honor those who have served in the upcoming Season of Giving and be especially thankful for the sacrifices made.

Wooldridge, Missouri was a victim of the Flood of ’93. Driving down into the Overton Bottoms Refuge area (which is adjacent to Wooldridge), it’s hard to get a feel for the volume of water that ran this town into near collapse. This Sign signifies an entrance.

The map helps our minds grasp a picture of the area the refuge embodies.

Pointing the way

Missouri River bottoms

Looking East towards the river.

Returning to town.

There were still crops to harvest at the time we meandered down this gravel road.

Old grain elevator

Flood waters ran over these tracks.

Driving over the tracks, aka city limits.

I didn’t find a lot of information about Wooldridge, Missouri other than the flooding of ’93 and the founder’s name. But I found several moments where I wished for someone to be standing outside that I could have asked a few questions. In the meantime, I leave you with the last photo here of some hidden doors that are behind that semi- trailer.

Sidenote: I found it tough to snap photos of the delapidated places we drove past here. I felt I was nearly intruding on these residents and the conditions some were actually living in. But hindsight has brought me the realization that I should have photographed it for various reasons. One huge reason is for a viewpoint of the lasting impact of natural disasters. Lesson learned.

Thursday Doors in the words of Norm 2.0, ” is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing it, between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time), by using the blue link-up button….”

The jaunt through Arrow Rock, Missouri continues for yet one more week. No promises to be finished with it, although I reserve the right to take a break from it. Time will tell.

In case you were in the market for some business real estate in the area, here’s one right on the boardwalk of Down Town Arrow Rock. Antique/novelty shop, bakery, hair salon or photo/art studio would be my own personal suggestion. Hint, hint. 😉

Across the street is this pretty significant place in history in the state of Missouri…..

I think the best approach to convincing you of the appeal of this Mid-Missouri real estate is with a little slide show. So hope you enjoy this slice of Huston Mercantile.